Rail-joint.



W. P. 8: S. G. THOMSON.

RAIL 101 APPLICATION FILED DEC. 1%, 190g.

Patented Dec. 28,1909.

WILLIAICL' P. THOMSON ANDSAMUEL G. THOMSON, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNQRS T0 ThOMSON-THOlViSQN COMPANY, A PARTNERSHIP, OF PHILADELPHIA,

PENNSYLVANIA.

"BAIL-JOINT.

scenes.

Letters Patent. Patented Dec. 28, 1909.

Application filed. December 14, 1908. Serial no. eezgsse.

which the following is a full, cle r, and ex- "act description, reference being -md to the ace coinpanying drawings, forming part .of this specification, in which- Figures 1, and 5 are sectional views showing dii'terent embodiinents of our invention; Figs. 3 and l are elevations of different forms of burs also embodying bur invention; Jig. G is a top planview oiithe bar shown in Fig. 4-.

Our invention has relation to rail joints, and is designed to provide :2 very great increase in the vertical stillness of at splice bar, and at the shine time provide ample clearance for wheel flanges, even although there may be sharp v hinges on badly worn rails, and also provide sullicient clearance above each bolt hole to permit the nuts to be tight encd on the vertical gripping faces adjacent to the bolt holes without interference from the portion above each bolthole on account of its projection outside of the inner face of the nut and below the top of the nut.

' We are aware that various attempts have been made to reinforce a splice bar by providing an enlarged head, but the metal has, hitherto been placed so high on the head of the bar that it interfered with a proper clearance for wheel flanges, and therefore, under certain well known, conditions, caused wheel flanges to strike in a dangerous manner. There have also been certain attempts to add metal to the upper portion of the head and at the same time provide a clearance for wheel flanges, but in all such attempts, the metal has alwe. s been added above the tops of the nuts or o ove the tops of the nut locks, with the result that an insignificant reinforcement was secured because the spaeebetween the two horizontal planes which will ments in splice bars without the necessitating an increase in the length of bolts over standard practice. The restrictionof previous reinforcements Within such narrow limitations has accounted for the insignificant strengthening of the bar which has been hitherto secured.

Uur invention consists in rolling or otherwise forming a bar with the reinforcement. on the outside lying between the far Wider limitations of the horizontal plane, which will clear the wheel. flanges and a horizontal plane at the bottom of the bolts, and then reaming or slotting or otherwise removinga center line of each bolt to permit the inside face of the head, or of the nut, of the bolt to beer on a vertical gripping face. Our in vention thus provides a very great reinforcement of a splice bar above the center line of the bolts and the use at the same time of the same length of bolts as was possible when reinforcements were made entirely above the tops of the nuts. Our invention also provides thata portion of the outer face of the Web of the bar which lies between horizontill planes at the top and-bottom of the boltsame plane for the full length of the bar;

there is an unrecessed outer face through which at least a portion of eaclrbolt hole passes. I

It will be noted that our improvement is applicable to an angle bar without amember extending below the railbase as wvell as to any form of bar which has such an extension below the rail base; in other words, our improve nent belongs essentially to that ortion of an 1 splice bar which lies above the center of the bolts. v

The precise nature or" our invention will be bestunderstood by reference to theac companying drawings, in which we have shown a number of different embodiments of the inventiouand which will now be described, it being premised, however, that. these "forms are illustrative only end that the principle of our invention may be applied to bars of verious other forms.

us the best practice ofrneking reinforceportion of this reinforcing metal above the holes shall ren'nxin intact and extend in the thus on any bar embodying our invirtioi-r- In the figures of the drawings, }WG' est position.

have shown our improved joint as applied to rails of ordinary T-section, but the joint is also applicable to rails of other sections.

In these drawings, the numeral 2 whenever seen designates one of the joint rails; 3 a splice bar; t the joint bolts; 5 the securing nuts; 6 the vertical gripping faces for nuts; 7 the reinforcing metal outside of the surface 6 and below the top of the nut 5; 8 a nut lock; 9 the raised edges bounding the vertical surfaces 6, after the milling or slotting has been done.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1, the reinforcing metal 7 is'removed only high enough to permit. the nut to turn, and the upper portion of the reinforcing metal is.

allowed to extend continuously along the outer side of the head of the bar;'this bar also lies entirely above the bottom surface of the rail base, and also stands free from the web of the rail so that a tight fit may be secured and wear may be taken up.

Fig. 2 shows a bar with a member extending below the bottom surface of the rail base and in this instance the member is a freely depending flange; the vertical surface extends not quite as high as the top of the'nut, as an intervening nut lock 8 spaces the nut far enough away from the vertical surface to permit the nut to turn, without interference from the portion of reinforcing metal which is allowed to remain above the highest portion of the surface 6; the milling in this instance is along a diagonal line above the vertical surface 6, instead of along a horizontal line as in Fig. 1.

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 show several different ways of providing the vertical gripping faces (3 and reinforcements, and will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

It. will be noted that the millingmay be done in such a manner as shown in Fig. 2-, so that a vertical gripping face is secured, which is not necessarily quite as high as the tops of the nuts when they are in their high- Thisis possible where nut locks are used, which space the nut far enough away from the vertical face to permit some of the reinforcing metal to remain below the to of the nut and between the nut and the vertical face. The deficiency in the top members of angle bars has hitherto been so great that the addition of even such a smallaniount of metal lying between the nutand the vertical face and between the horizontal plane at the top of the nut and the top of the nut lock is valuable. This reinforcement of the head is obtainable in various other ways where auxiliary washers or platesare used, necessitating the additional expense, and to many engineers, the objectionable feature of auxiliary washers and longer bolts, and our invention, therefore,

rovides a means for securing this large rein-" orcement without the objectionable features;

It will be apparent, as indicated in Fig. 3, that the under side of the reinforcing rib may be horizontal, instead of inclined, thus forming a rib with asharp corner extending along the lower outer edge. The only difference which this change requires would be a heavier milling.

This application is in part a division of our pending application, Serial No. 375,339, filed May 23, 1907.

e claim: 1. A splice bar for rails having bolt hole therethrough and having a portion of its bolting face below a horizontal plane at the center of said holes slanting downwardly;- and outwardly, and a portion of said face above said plane projecting outwardly to a point outside of the outer edge of the rail head, a recess in said outwardly extending face and an abrupt projection above said recess, said bar to lie entirely below the lower outer edge of the rail head; substantially as described.

2. A splice bar for rails having holes for connecting bolts and an upper face inclined downwardly and outwardly from the lower outer edge of the rail head, said bar having portions of a bolting face which extends outwardly beyond the outer edge of the rail head above said holes-and which is recessed to allow nuts to turn on Vertical outer gripping faces, said gripping faces being also partly formed by an outer face lying in substantially the same plane and extending the full length of the bar; substantially as described.

A splieebar for rails having an upper face slanting downwardly and outwardly from the lower outer edge of the rail head,

said bar having holes for connecting bolts, and also having the upper portion of its bolting face-extending outwardly beyond the head of the rail, said upper portion being re-,'

cessed to form vertical faces adjacent to said bolt holes, and said vertical faces lying in substantially the same plane as an outer face which extends in substantially the same plane for the full length of the bar; substantially as described.

4. A splice bar for rails having holes for connecting bolts, and also having adjacent to said bolt holes vertical faces recessed from slanting portions and lyin' outside the head of the rail and each of 'sufllcient area to per-.

mit a nut to turn freely into a tightened position, said bar having a ortion of its outer faceabove a portion 0 said vertical face inclined upward and outward, and a .portion ofits outer face below a port-ion of said vertical face' inclined downward and outward, substantially as described;

5. In a rail joint, 2. s lice bar to stand free from the rail web an having bolt holes therethrough, and also having a portion of itsbolting face lying in substantially the same plane for the full length of the bar adjacent. to the center lineof the bolt holes, said bar also having an outwardly inclined face"intersecting a horizontal plane at the top of the bolt holes, portions of said face 'above the center line of the bolt holes being recessed adjacent to the boltholes to form a clearance for a nut to turn into a tightened position; substantially as described.

6. In a rail joint, a pair of similar splice bars at. opposite sides of the rail, and which may be used interchangeably, each ofsaid bar-shaving an upper face inclined down wardly and outwardly from the lower outer edge of the rail heat said barhaving holes for connecting bolts and having a portion of its bolting face lying in substantially the same plane for the full length of the bar adjaeentto the center line of said'holes, said bar also having recessed portions to complete a vertical gripping face for a nut, said face lying outside of the rail head and in the saute plane'above and below said bolt holes: substantially described.

7. A splice bar for rails to lie entirely below the lower outer edge of the rail head and having holes for clamping bolts, a portion of the outer face of said bar lying in suhstantia'lly the same plane for the full length of the bar adjacent to the center-line of said holes, and another portion of its outer face being altered from the general alineinent of the bar adjacent to only a portion of all of said bolt holes; substantially as described. l

8. In a rail joint. a splice bar having a fare inclined douuwardly and outwardly from the lower outer edge of the rail head and having a longitudinal rib extending along its outer face adjacent to its top, the under portion only of said rib being recessed beyond the outer cdgeofthe rail head to form clearances fornuts to turn on the outer face of the bar a portion of said outer as described.

face extendin for the full length of the bar l; the same plane,substantially in substantial 9. In a rail joint, a splice bar to lie entirely'below the lower outer edge of the rail head and havin a longitudinal along its outer face a jacent to its top, and bolt holes, below said rib, the lower portion of said rib vertically above each bolt hole being recessed to form a vertical. bolt gripping face lying in substantially the saine plane as said outerface'at the mid-section of the bar and the upperportion of said rib pro; jecting abruptly beyond said;;vertical face, substantially as (Described. 1

'10. A splice bar for-rails to lie entirely below the lower outer edge of the rail head and having a concave CllfililtQ-i" in its outer face running lengthwise of the bar, said channel lying entirely outside of the rail head and being formed by a vertical face interposed between two outwardly extending and diverging faces, portions of said channel faces being recessed to form vertical gripping faces for bolts, substantially as described. V

11. A splice bar for rails, having a stiffening rib extending along its outer face adjaeent to its top said bar having an upper face inclined downwardly and outwardly, a portion of said rib being recessed to form .a

ortion of a vertical gripping face for a bolt, another portion of sald gripping face being formed by an outer face of the bar lying in substantially the same plane througl'iout the entire length of the bar; sub- .stantially as described.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set. our hands.

WI LL'I AM. P. THO M .51 )N. SAMUEL G. THOMSON.

Witnesses: S. E. PATTERSON,

MoLEoo 'lnomsox. 

